Girls' Generation Drop 'Dancing Queen,' Set Date for Album Release

Billboard -- Girls' Generation spent 2012 focused on the U.S. and Japan (including earning a Japan Hot 100 No. 1 single), but the ladies are wasting absolutely no time coming back to their home country in 2013.

Their new album, "I GOT A BOY," will be released just as the new year starts on Jan. 1. The official promotion for their fourth album will begin in January, but to satiate fans in the meantime, the girls dropped a new single and music video "Dancing Queen." Watch It:

"Dancing Queen" is a remake of Duffy's Grammy-nominated single "Mercy" but with a Girls' Generation twist. The track was actually recorded in 2008 (when Duffy's was released) but only now was it released to fans. The track doesn't feature the slick electronic pop productions the girls are known for today (like first international single "the Boys" or their most recent Japanese single "Flower Power") but instead plays off funky pop sounds, similar to their sub-unit, Girls' Generation TTS, and their debut track "Twinkle."

"Mercy" took the world by storm just as Girls' Generation's popularity began taking off with their first mini-album "Gee," which saw the group posing with white shirts and jeans on the cover. The video plays off this same nostalgia with the girls going "back in time" to 2008 wearing the same jeans and shirt combination (in addition to wigs that copy their former hairstyles).

2012 was the year PSY's "Gangnam Style" (and the female version featuring HyunA) passed the girls as the most watched K-pop video of all time when their "Gee" video had always held that record (the video currently has almost 94 million views). Perhaps this is a way for Girls' Generation to remind everyone what a force they are in K-pop and that they are ready to take their crown back in 2013.

At the end of "Dancing Queen" there is a quick clip where the girls go to 2013 with a clip of their (presumably) new single, featuring a loud, fast-paced electronic, dubstep-inspired beat with confident shouting and one tease of a sugary "I got a boy" hook.

"Dancing Queen" is a fun, nostalgic comeback track for the ninesome and should set them up nicely for an ultra-successful "I Got A Boy" comeback in less than two weeks.